Week One is (almost!) Done

Week one of school has been a great success! I am thrilled to have each of your children in my/our class. We have a great bunch- really!

Thank you for being so prompt in returning all of your parent surveys and student information sheets. The kids are excited to have the money to pay rent on Monday morning. Some have already learned about the fines and cost of using the bathroom... :)

We will begin our regular curriculum for the year on Monday. We will be reading a story about the Scientific Method, learning about place value & how to read large numbers, working with the writing process to create a narrative account, and studying the Declaration of Independence. The students will be memorizing a section of the DofI to recite every day with the Pledge of Allegiance. It's a great conversation piece at the dinner table, so ask them about it!

Regular homework will begin next week as well. This week, each student was given their login information for Pearson Success Net- our digital/interactive math curriculum. They can access everything that I do in class on their own computer now. So if you need them to stay home for any reason, they can still work to stay caught up at home. They were all made aware that they are expected to complete homework and a mini-quiz for each section on a nightly basis- both of which are available online for them. Please allow them time to complete these assignments!

One last note: some kids are "short" on their Classroom Cash for August rent... I told them today that I will accept donations to our classroom and pay them $10 for each one. These are things above and beyond the original supply list. In case they ask you to contribute, the things we need most are Kleenex and hand sanitizer- these go like CRAZY in classrooms!

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. Thank you for all you do. I'm excited to have this opportunity to work with each of you and your wonderful kids!

Beginning of the Year Supply List

Here is the list of things that EACH STUDENT in our class is asked to provide as the school year begins. These things are deeply discounted during the summer, so I'd suggest buying multiples for home and possible classroom replacement as the year progresses.


Some of the items listed are things that will be shared as a classroom community- and are MUCH needed! (Kleenex, hand sanitizer, paper towels, etc.) Please feel free to send things in as the year goes on, as we will use it all!

At the bottom of the list is a section of things that are my own wishes for the classroom based on projects and units we'll be working on during the year. Any donations are much appreciated!

Thank you in advance for all of your efforts and commitment to our learning community. It's going to be a great year! :)

For Our Classroom:
2 rolls of paper towels
2 boxes of Kleenex
2 pkgs. of baby wipes
2 containers of disinfecting wipes
2 reams of copy paper- 8.5 x 11”
1 ream of color copying paper (your choice of color)
1 bottle of hand sanitizer
2 pkgs. of 3 hole punched, wide-ruled, lined paper
1 pkg. of 12+, #2 pencils

For Student’s desk:
2 dry erase markers
2 highlighters
1 pkg. washable colored markers
1 pkg. coloring pencils
1 pkg. 3x5 index cards
1 pair of scissors
2 large pink erasers
1 ruler with cm/inch
1 bottle of white glue
2+ glue sticks
4 spiral bound notebooks
1 pencil box
2 plastic 2-pocket folders (with or without prongs)- for home/school communication
10 paper 2-pocket folders (with prongs)- for work organization in the classroom

Mrs. Washburn's Wishlist:
hanging file folders
sticky notes
"Forever" stamps/postage for students to send letters during writing units
tape refills
electric pencil sharpener
construction paper
paper plates
napkins
plastic spoons/forks
sandwich/quart/gallon sized storage bags
paper bags
crafting glue dots
Crayola Model Magic modeling material- any color
fourth grade age appropriate classroom library books

Meet Your Teacher

Hello Students and Families! Welcome to fourth grade! I am excited to get to know you and so I'll tell you a little about myself.

My name is Marianne Washburn. I was born and raised in a military family, so I moved around a lot. I attended ten schools during the course of my education! Most of my education took place in California, but I moved to Arizona when my father retired from the Marine Corps and took a job in Phoenix. I finished high school at Red Mountain High in Mesa and then attended Arizona State University to earn my Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education in 2005.

I've had lots of experience working both full time teaching Kindergarten, first and fifth grades, and part time as a substitute teacher in multiple districts in the East Valley. I taught as a substitute teacher for Cambridge in from 2010-2011 in fact and I have had a chance to meet many of you already.

I married my husband, James, in 2002 and we now have two beautiful- and feisty!- little girls. EmmaLee is five years old and Maycee is two. We live near Cambridge Academy in Mesa and I like to ride my bike to school some days with my daughter EmmaLee, who is in Kindergarten this year.

Some of my favorites are:
color: yellow
song: She Drives Me Crazy by Fine Young Cannibals
chapter book: Frindle by Andrew Clements
subject: social studies- I LOVE history!
poem: Dreams, by Langston Hughes
artist: Georgia O'Keefe
way to spend an afternoon: playing with my daughters or curling up with a good book
season: Autumn
holiday: Thanksgiving- my family is really big on traditions
candy: Twix bars or chocolate covered pretzels (YUUUUM!)
way to move around: my step aerobics class at the gym- I attend regularly because I love it!

Three things I want to do before I die:
1- Visit Europe...especially Ireland.
2- Drive a really fast car... really fast!
3- Learn to fly an airplane

I'm looking forward to getting to know you too! Please remember to come say "hi" at Cambridge Academy's Meet the Teacher Night. It's Thursday, July 21st from 5-7pm. We're in Room 9.
See you there!
Mrs. Washburn